WASHINGTON, July 12, 2016 - House Republican leaders are
gearing up to ensure that the Senate’s compromise on GMO labeling gets to
President Obama’s desk. The House Rules Committee is expected today to approve
a closed rule for the bill that would not allow consideration of any amendments.
A closed rule is critical for the legislation because if the House makes any
changes, the bill will have to go back to the Senate. That would delay exaction
of the legislation indefinitely. Both the House and Senate are going to be out
of session after this week until September.
Some opponents of the legislation seemed resigned to the idea that the House is
going to approve the bill. They’ve already started a petition to
President Obama, asking him to veto the bill even though his own Agriculture
Department assisted in the drafting of the measure. The petition needs at least
100,000 signers just to get a response from the president.
More
than 1,100 organizations and companies sent a letter to House leaders
yesterday, urging them to get the bill passed this week. Opponents of
the bill countered with a letter signed by 79 groups.
FSA employees: more funds needed for farm loans. Farmers are going through
tough times and more funds are needed to provide much-needed credit, Farm
Service Agency officials said in a statement Monday.
The National Association of Credit Specialists, a group representing the FSA
officials who have the ability to approve farm loans, expressed frustration
with the lack of available funds when commodity prices are low and farm income
is falling.
“The irony is, producers turn to FSA to enter into farming and ranching or when
commercial credit is unobtainable, and here we sit willing, but unable to fund
their loan requests,” said Ben Herink, chairman of the group’s legislative
committee.”
Herink said he was pleased with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s decision to
request funds for new guaranteed farm ownership loans, but he also stressed
that more funds are needed for operating loans.
“Some operations may not be able to get into business at this time and some may
unfortunately go out of business,” he said. “What is also frustrating for
our borrowers is that many will be forced to make poor operating choices.”
Do you want your Vilsack on wheat or white? The Dirty South Deli, one of
the vendors at USDA’s weekly farmer’s market, is collaborating on a new
sandwich named after Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a spokeswoman tellsAgri-Pulse.
She said he’s consulting his grandkids on the sandwich ingredients and it
should be available to the public in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, Vilsack signed a proclamation Monday,
declaring that Aug.7 – 13 will again this year be considered National Farmers
Market Week.
"Farmers markets are an important part of strong local and regional food
systems that connect farmers with new customers and grow rural economies,”
Vilsack said in a statement.
From June 3 through Sept. 30 the USDA is host to a farmers
market every Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. where vendors sell
everything from vegetables to fresh bread. If you’re in D.C. and you stop by
the parking lot outside USDA headquarters on Independence Ave., you might even
catch Vilsack at the market, where he’s known to buy sweet corn, bread, and the
occasional pork sandwich.
USDA to post the data it collects at meat plants. USDA’s Food Safety and
Inspection Service officials collect reams and reams of data at the packing and
slaughter houses that they inspect every day. Up until now FSIS has published
much of that data in an aggregated form, but the agency’s Establishment-Specific
Data Release Strategic Plan calls for that data from individual plants
to be available to the public.
“FSIS’ food safety inspectors collect vast amounts of data at food producing
facilities every day, which we analyze on an ongoing basis to detect emerging
public health risks and create better policies to prevent foodborne illness,”
said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Al Almanza.
“Consumers want more information about the foods they are purchasing, and
sharing these details can give them better insight into food production and
inspection, and help them make informed purchasing decisions.”
Algae bloom takes a bite out of Chilean salmon. You can expect to continue
to pay more for Chilean salmon because of the massive algae bloom that appeared
off the country’s coast this year, according to a new Foreign Agricultural
Service report.
The bloom, a result of effects from the El Niño weather pattern, has already
reduced this year’s catch by about 100,000 metric tons in the first half or
2016, the report concluded. The losses that are due to the “red tide” represent
about 12 percent of Chile’s total annual catch.
Angered over the situation and demanding help from the government, Chile’s
fishermen held protests and blocked off roads. That only made the economic
impact of fish losses more severe, the FAS officials said. “Industry sources
estimated losses of $9 million (per) day in sales due to the road-blocks,” they
said.
The price of Chilean salmon in the U.S. leaped by about 54 percent from January
to June, the report said.
Agri-Pulse at ASA. If you’re attending the American Soybean
Association’s Board of Director’s Meeting this week, make sure you catch Agri-Pulse Senior
Editor Philip Brasher and Associate Editor Spencer Chase today as they discuss
the presidential campaign and its potential impact on agriculture.
He said it. “If somebody glances at this and sees we oppose chickens, it’s
not going to go well for us out on the campaign trail.” - Republican Party
platform committee member Andy Aplikowski of Minnesota, opposing a platform
amendment that would oppose any listing of the less prairie chicken under the
Endangered Species Act. The language was approved.
Phil Brasher contributed to this report.
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